“It takes something special to make a room shaped something like a laundry chute, feel
like a theatre. The Strumbellas are a band that seems to know what that special quality
is, because from their first song to their last, they transformed the small Railway Club
into a blazing amphitheatre” – VANCOUVERWEEKLY.COM
Since the release of The Strumbellas’ eponymous 2009 EP, which was peppered
with accolades from Toronto weeklies and prompted a proclamation from the CBC
that they are a “band to watch,” the six-piece group has been slogging it out, earning
their stripes through residencies at The Cameron House and most recently a month of
Home.Sweet.Home Tuesdays at The Dakota Tavern. The band also left the proverbial
nest in 2012, making new fans with two cross-country tours as well as playing a plethora
of festivals including CMW, NXNE, Pop Montreal, Eaglewood and Hillside in Guelph,
which by all accounts was the equivalent of their cotillion ball.
“The Rivoli was too small to contain the crowd trying to get in to see bluegrass-gospel-
punks The Strumbellas launch their debut disc, My Father And The Hunter” – NOW
MAGAZINE
Conceived in Lindsay, Ont., but born in Toronto, The Strumbellas are equal parts
small town dream and big city gumption. Sensitive singer-songwriters beware: this ain’t
your meemaw’s country music. The band brings wheat field harmonies and arena-
ready thunder to backrooms and festival stages alike. Folk wisp and country twang are
nowhere to be found as The Strumbellas pound out a bluegrass-inspired indie rock that
rivals punk and hardcore for sweat, blood, and ruckus.
“The Strumbellas conjure an alt-country Canadian landscape in which home is a
beacon, the graveyard looms large, and it all ends with a piano dirge to carry a body and
bury it slowly” - THE STAR PHOENIX
“The album is full of high energy, earnest folk music, coupled with darker-tinged gothic
folk” – EXCLAIM! MAGAZINE
The Strumbellas’ 2012 debut album, My Father And The Hunter, offers a beautiful,
harmonious dichotomy between melancholy heartbreak on songs Carry My Body,
Diane, Windsurfers, Underneath A Mountain, Left For Dead and The Bird That Follows
Me compared to blow-the-barn-doors-off spunk on The Sheriff, Lakes, Sailor’s Blues,
Rhinestone, I Just Had A Baby and Pistol. The album, which was produced by Cone
McCaslin and recorded at Blue Rodeo’s coveted Woodshed Studio, is the harvest of
talented friends, some whisky and a few rounds of euchre. Harmonies, stomps, hollers,
claps and gang vocals unabashedly abound as the songs weave compelling stories
throughout the entire album. Dance, cry, put your fist through a wall or call someone
you love – expect to feel it all. Check out the mini-doc for The Bird That Follows Me in-
studio recording here.
The group recently headed south of the border to record with West Coast producer
Ryan Hadlock (The Lumineers, Metric, The Strokes, Gossip) at Bear Creek Studio near
Seattle.
“If 2012 was their year to introduce themselves to the larger Canadian audience, 2013
will surely be their breakout year. Chances are, we’ll all be much more familiar with The
Strumbellas sooner rather than later” – BEATROUTE
The Strumbellas: Simon Ward – vocals, acoustic guitar / David Ritter – piano, organ,
percussion, vocals / Jeremy Drury – drums, percussion / Isabel Ritchie – violin, viola,
vocals / Jon Hembrey – electric guitar, mandolin /Darryl James – bass.